Dance Contest?
by pinksnail
Summary: The title says it all. Mira's organised a dance contest and selected the dance pairs herself. Will the members of Fairy Tail discover they're dancing pros or will they be tripping over their own feet?
1. Where do we sign up?

**This is one of the four Fairy Tail Fan Fictions I'm writing at the moment along with my main one, Ruler of the stars. Depending on which one of these four (A Very Happy Christmas, Dance Competition, Battle of the Sexes and Kick, Punch, Kiss) gets the most alerts or favourites, I'll focus on writing two that are most popular, with Ruler of the Stars.**

**This story is written in Lucy's point of view.**

**With that out of the way, Enjoy!**

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**Dance Competition?**

"What did you say?"

It had been a normal day at Fairy Tail. Well... We had thought it would be a normal day, we had thought the master was giving a normal announcement. How wrong we were...

"What did you say?" the guild exclaimed in disbelief.

"Master, did you say a Dance Competition?" I asked, unsure I had heard the tiny mage correctly.

"That's right! The Fairy Tail Dance competition!" The Master affirmed "Mira's organising everything."

Mira's involved. I should have known.

"The prize for winning this contest is free food for a year! So who wants to participate?" inquired Mira.

"Free food for a year! I'm in!" Natsu announced "Happy I'm all fired up!"

"Aye!"

"No thanks, I'll pass on this one." said Cana

"Did I mention you also get free drinks for a year if you win?" Mira added

"Let's do this thing!"

Cana sure changes her mind quickly when alcohols involved.

"I don't really want to dance..." I said

"And the winner will receive 70,000 jewels prize money."

"Where do I sign up?" I smiled.

"If you want to participate in the contest, sign up here." Mira answered, pointing to a sheet of paper pined to the mission board.

A number of people, including me, wrote their names down on the sheet.

"I've got to win this. I need that rent money, since Natsu, Gray and Erza had destroyed that town on our last mission..." I thought to myself, shuddering at the thought of how much money had been deducted from our reward for clean up bills.

"Everyone who's taking part, please come back here tomorrow at 9 o'clock so I can explain the rules." Mira said

I went home early that night to make sure I was ready for day one of the contest tomorrow. I was walking back to my house with Plue, balancing myself on the platform beside the river.

"Be careful Miss, don't fall off now." shouted the boat man, like usual.

"I will, don't worry." I called back. I hopped from stone to stone along the platform and nearly lost my footing. I regained my balance by waving my arms wildly and Plue gripping on to my legs.

"That was close Plue." I said

"Pun, Pun!" Plue agreed

"I wonder what Mira's rules will be..." I thought aloud "She's bound to put some sort of twist in this contest, to make it entertaining. What do you think, Plue?"

"Pun, Pun..."

"It's not like you'd know anymore that I do anyway..." I sighed

"Pun..." Plue replied, sadly.

"Well whatever Mira's got in store, I'll be ready! I'll have a nice bath and a good night's sleep." I declared, doing a heroic pose.

"Pun, Pun!" Plue said, copying my pose.


	2. Mira's chosen pairs

**This is one of the four Fairy Tail Fan Fictions I'm writing at the moment along with my main one, Ruler of the stars. Depending on which one of these four (A Very Happy Christmas, Dance Competition, Battle of the Sexes and Kick, Punch, Kiss) gets the most alerts or favourites, I'll focus on writing two that are most popular, with Ruler of the Stars.**

**With that out of the way, Enjoy!**

* * *

The next day everyone who had signed up for the dance competition gathered in the Guild hall, other members of Fairy Tail came to listen too.

Mira cheerfully skipped up on to the stage. "She must have something really horrible in store for us if she looks this happy..." I thought

"Hello everyone!" Mira beamed "I have an announcement before I read out the rules,"

An announcement? This can't be good...

"In this competition you shall be working not alone but as a duo. All your dances will be done in pairs!" Mira squealed gleefully. An outbreak of muttering came from the crowd.

"Pairs, no one said anything about pairs..."

"I'm only good at solo dancing..."

"I had my whole routine planed already..."

"And to stop any unfair advantages, I have already chosen who your partners going to be!" Mira added.

"What! Your already making us dance in two's and now we can't even chose who our partners going to be?" Gajeel barked

"Gajeel! What are you doing here? I didn't know you danced." Levy exclaimed, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"He already sings, why shouldn't he dance?" snickered Cana

"Shut up!" Gajeel snapped.

"In answer to Gajeel; I chose your pairs to stop those who already dance well going with each other!" Mira explained, still grinning "Now, it's time to tell you who your partner shall be. First..." Mira said, flipping through her sheets of paper. "Romeo and Wendy!" The two youngest guild members we're pushed together into the middle of the room, they had both turned crimson.

"Bisca and Alzack!" The couple squealed in delight at having each other as a partner, they were married after all.

"Cana and Macao!"

"We got 'a win this Macao, for the beer!" Cana said

"For the beer!" Macao agreed, raising a bottle of booze.

"Gajeel and Levy!" Levy blushed, while Gajeel stared anywhere but at the script mage.

"Elfman and Evergreen!" Evergreen turned away from Elfman folding her arms across her chest and Elfman just gave a "What did I do wrong?" kind of shrug.

"Gray and Juvia!" Juvia fainted and Gray tried anxiously to revive her.

"Lisanna and Bixlow!" Bixlow sauntered over to Lisanna, whilst Lisanna eyed him nervously.

"And finally," Mira said "Natsu and Lucy!"

I gave a loud groan. Natsu was my partner? Really? Before when we've tried to dance he stepped on my feet every few seconds, how am I meant to get my rent money now?

Natsu bounded over to me cheerfully and said "We're gonna win this thing, Luce!"

"Yeah, we can always hope..." I sighed.


	3. Who's the teacher?

**This is one of the four Fairy Tail Fan Fictions I'm writing at the moment along with my main one, Ruler of the stars. Depending on which one of these four (A Very Happy Christmas, Dance Competition, Battle of the Sexes and Kick, Punch, Kiss) gets the most alerts or favourites, I'll focus on writing two that are most popular, with Ruler of the Stars.**

**With that out of the way, Enjoy!**

* * *

"Now that you all have your partners, I'll read out the rules." Mira said, pulling out a light pen (a pen that can draw in the air). "Right, rule number one:" Mira began to write out the rules mid-air then read them out to us.

You must accept your dance partners; there will be no swapping under any circumstances.

You and your partner must attend the three dance classes before you start your training.

You will be given an hour a day rehearsal time in the dance studio, you must rehearse in your time slot, and if you want to rehearse extra, you will need to practice elsewhere.

You can't have extra dance classes, you must use the skills you have already and what you've picked up from the dance classes we give you. Don't accept any outside help.

No watching other couples rehearse; you will be immediately disqualified for cheating.

No sabotage, if you mess with the other couples you will be answering to me.

You must wear the clothes we give you on the night you present your dances, women must wear high heels and men must wear leather shoes.

Have fun!

"And lastly, make sure you have fun!" Mira finished reading.

"Fair enough." Macao said

"I can't walk in high heels, let alone dance." Wendy cried

"Don't worry Wendy; you have till next Sunday to practice." Mira comforted.

"But that only gives us eight days!" I exclaimed

"And what about those classes we're getting?" asked Lisanna, raising an eyebrow at her jubilant sister.

"Oh yes. There starting now. Follow me and I'll show you to your first class." Mira replied, gesturing for everyone to follow her.

We all walked behind Mira chatting to our new dance partners.

Natsu was talking to me but I was only half listening. My mind was on other things, like all that lovely rent money slipping further and further away from me with every passing second. And I was also wondering who are dance teachers would be and what they would actually be teaching us.

"We're here!" Mira announced "This is the Fairy Tail Dance Studio!" We were standing outside a large warehouse, with boarded up windows and peeling paint.

"This is the Dance Studio?" Evergreen inquired sceptically.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Mira trilled "Now come inside, your teachers are waiting."

"Mira, who are the teachers?" Romeo asked the bar maid as we walked inside the building.

"You'll see..." She replied.

Mira stopped again in a corridor. The corridor was as run down as the outside was. It was dusty, stained and filled with old discarded junk. It had four doors each with its own plaque. Three of the door's read Dance Class room one, two and three and the last door at the end of the corridor read Rehearsal room.

"Behind these three doors," Mira said, pointing to the Dance Class rooms ", is a teacher. The first will teach you the basics of Jazz and Modern, the second will give you and your partner a bonding and trust session and the third will give you a lesson in different ballroom dances. Each session will last an hour exactly. Romeo and Wendy, Elfman and Evergreen and Natsu and Lucy, you will be starting in room 1, Jazz. Bisca and Alzack, Gray and Juvia, Cana and Macao, you're in room two, partner bonding. Lisanna and Bickslow, Gajeel and Levy, you're in room three, ballroom. You'll all swap in an hour, now go have fun!" Mira beamed, ushering us all into our rooms.

Everyone sent to room one gasped as they entered. This room wasn't at all like the rest of the warehouse. It had highly polished wooden floors, mirror and railing all around the room and a mahogany desk with a Lacrima Stereo upon it. I looked around the room, unable to spot who I was looking for "Where's the teacher?" I asked

"Down here!" answered a shockingly very familiar voice.

I looked down "Happy?"


	4. Our Lessons

**Thanks for Reviewing so far! Glad you like the idea of Happy as a dance instructor. Love the positive comments. I feel flattered :3**

**And sorry I've taken ages to update. I've posted way to many fanfics to handle, but I just have to get these brilliant ideas out there! **

**Modest, Ne?**_**  
**_

**Tanoshinde kudasai! **

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"Happy?!"

I looked down and there was the fur covered Exceed.

"You're the dance teacher?!" We all exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy replied.

Elfman and Evergreen stood there with the what WTF look, Romeo and Wendy were nervous, I had a vacant expression and Natsu giving his blue friend a toothy grin.

"I didn't know you knew proper dancing, you should tell me these things Happy." Natsu fake pouted.

Happy giggled at Natsu's pretend sulking but answered anyway "Oh, I didn't until yesterday Natsu."

I felt all the colour leave my face. He hadn't learnt Jazz and Modern until yesterday?! The others looked like they were thinking similar thought to me by the look of them.

Happy continued to chat to Natsu, talking complete nonsense "I was fishing the other day, but unfortunately there were no fish. Just then Mira came along and was like 'How about I get you some fish?' and I said 'Aye.' So she told me to go learn Jazz and Modern. I looked it up on Wikipedia and printed off a certificate to say I can dance from the lacrima laptop, so now I'm a qualified dance instructor and I'm getting fish!" Happy finished holding up a framed certificate.

"Oh, I see." Natsu nodded. Everyone stood the with the WTF face again, obviously thinking something along the lines of "Wikipedia, really?"

"Shall we get started then?" asked Happy

"Okay..." Happy directed everyone into a space in the room and then flew to the desk at the front, switching on his lacrima stereo. An upbeat pop song came on.

"First we need to warm up with some aerobics!" Happy declared "Follow my lead." The Exceed started to jog on the spot in time to the music. Natsu was copying enthusiastically but everyone else still stood there dumbstruck.

"Come on everyone, get those knees up!" Happy sang, flying to me and prodding my leg.

"Aright, alright." I said, pushing the Exceed away from my thighs. All of Happy's students, who had just been motionless, joined Natsu in the warm up.

**Five minutes later...**

"Star Jumps!" Happy yelled. Everyone started to do star jumps. Some less fervent than others... Evergreen and I stood at the back of the class, limply raising our arms out of time. We were breathing heavily, extremely tired. Romeo and Wendy were trying to keep up, not wanting to let Happy down but beads of sweat had started to run down their face. And Natsu and Elfman... Let's just say they were more than passionate.

"Kick and Flick!" Everyone followed Happy's orders, leaping and twirling around the room.

"Flush the toilet!" Happy commanded. He demonstrated the move 'flush the toilet; he pulled his arms down over his legs, almost touching the floor. We all bent down. A loud ripping sound came from the back of the classroom and a mortified Evergreen stood there, hands covering her front and backside. Her tight fitting skirt had just ripped. Wendy, Romeo, Happy, Natsu and I stared at Evergreen, horrified and Elfman averted his gaze, blushing red as a tomato. Luckily for Evergreen, I had a spare pair of shorts in my bag, which I hurriedly flung at the humiliated mage. She muttered a quick "Thank you." before slipping them on over the top of her underwear and what little remained of her tattered skirt.

"I think we've done enough warming up..." Happy said. "Err, Ok, first I'll show you some basic amalgamations..."

Happy was a better teacher than I thought he would be. He was actually ok. More than ok. He was brilliant! I was perplexed as to how the Exceed got so good from reading Wikipedia alone.

"... Finishing with the hop, drop, arms out wide." The Exceed directed me. I had just completed the drag, shuffle, leap, step routine and was feeling very proud of myself. "And hold it. Relax." Natsu had finished this dance too; in fact, he had progressed on to learning three more routines. It turned out Natsu really knew how to boogie, just like Happy. I really couldn't figure out where all this was coming from, as I had only seen they're crazy dancing at drunken nights in the guild.

"Wow, Natsu you're really good." I puffed, bending over to catch my breath.

"Thanks, Luce!" He answered loudly as he passed me. He was still travelling all around the room performing leaps and flips. Everyone stopped to watch the Dragon Slayer dance, amazed at how nimble he was. They all clapped along to the song Natsu was dancing to, encouraging him to perform even better.

At the end of the song Natsu stopped. All of Happy's students (and the Exceed himself) cheered vociferously. "Natsu is a true man!" Elfman cried.

"That was great!" Happy, Wendy and Romeo applauded "You have a good chance of winning."

"Pretty good..." said Evergreen.

"Rent Money!" I exclaimed, a huge grin on my face. Natsu smiled at the attention and took a small bow.

**In the next class...**

"Sit down!"

"Hai!"

The ferocious she-cat, Carla, stood in front of my group, paws on her hip. We all sat down at her command, not wanting to face her fury vengeance.

"This session is a bonding and trust session." Carla said sharply, pacing in back and forth in front the dance contestants. "You may all be thinking this class is not important. If you thought so, "Carla leaned over Romeo "YOU WERE WRONG!"

"Eeep!" Squeaked Romeo, falling backwards.

"Romeo!" Wendy gasped.

"No talking!" Carla snapped.

"Sorry..." Wendy replied shamefacedly.

"Don't apologise, Wendy." Carla scolds the dragon slayer.

"Sorry, I won't."

Carla sighs and then once again haughtily places her paws on her hips. "From now on, you shall call me Sensei!" She proclaimed.

"Sensei?" The group sweat dropped.

"Hai, Sensei!" Carla repeated.

"Hai, Sensei."

"Good." Carla praised happily "Now, trust and bond are very important when it comes to dancing in pairs. If there is no trust, there will be no bond. No bond, no trust."

"Me and Luce already have those things!" Natsu grabbed my wrist and waved my arm in the air. I smacked his head with my free hand.

"Itami!" Natsu rubbed the lump on his head that I hit.

"Silence!"

"Aye, Sensei..." Natsu whimpered, dropping his and my hand.

"It doesn't matter if you a friends or not already. This is a bond you won't have encountered before. It's a bond that lets you be able to think as one with your partner. If you have a true bond, you should be able to sense where your partner will next place their foot, follow without hesitation, and lead." Carla explains "To start with we will be doing simple talking activities to find out more about your partner, and then we shall move on to trust activities." Carla explained "I want you all to sit with your partner and take it in turns asking them questions about themselves. Learning how their brain functions, will help you understand them better and also give you a stronger bond."

"Talking is manly! Let's go Ever!" Elfman pulls Evergreen off to the corner of the room to talk.

"Err, shall we sit over there, Romeo?" Wendy asks shyly.

"Sure." The two go and sit over near the back of the room .

Natsu bumshuffled in front of me and said "You can start, Luce."

"Alright..." I agreed hesitantly. "Errr..." I struggled to think of a question to ask, since we already knew each other so well. "Oh!" I snapped my fingers in realisation and asked with a sly smile "Do you have any secret hobbies?"

"Pfft. No."

"Come on, tell me. Is it... Painting? Calligraphy? Acting?" I pled.

Natsu squirmed under my gaze. "Well... Sometimes... I... Don't laugh... I yodel." Natsu whispered.

"Yodel! You yodel?!" I sniggered.

"Hey!" Natsu pouts "I'm actually pretty good at it."

"I'd love to hear that!" I chortled.

"What about you then! What's your secret hobby?!"

"Mine? Well, I try to design and sew clothes." I replied timidly.

"Really?" Natsu asks in interest.

"Yeah, but I'm not very good at it though, so I just stick to writing mainly."

"Well I'd like to see what you've done then!" Natsu declared.

"No, no! You can't their not-"

"I'll come over tonight to see them." He said.

"You always come over anyway." I sighed

**Natsu's P.O.V.**

It was amazing how much Lucy knew about me and how little I knew about her. After a little while Lucy was struggling to think of questions for me. I suggested some, but she answered them straight away. And me... I didn't even know her favourite colour. Blue. Which makes sense really, it's the colour she wears most often. She must have been listening to me talk all the time, remembering everything. I felt ashamed really. I was meant to be her friend. And aren't friends meant to know each other's favourite colour?

I wanted to make it up to Lucy and find out as much as I could then. I asked her about food, fashion, writing, spirits, anything I thought Lucy would enjoy discussing. She seemed to enjoy conversing with me. She had a smile on her face all the while she was pointing out different qualities and aspects of her spirits. She even told me about her mother. It seemed she was a lot like Lucy from what I found out.

**Lucy's P.O.V.**

"-and she would always read me a story before bed." I finished, reminiscing contentedly.

Natsu smiled "She sounds like a great mom."

"Yeah she was..."

"Talking time is up! All stand!" Carla called to her students.

"Hai, Sensei!" Everyone quickly jumped to their feet. Natsu even saluted the she-cat (Out of fear of course)

"Now we shall be proceeding to trust exercises." Carla handed a sheet out to each duo "These sheets have some trust drills on them that I want you to complete. If you need help, call me over."

"Hai, Sensei!"

I looked down at the sheet we had been given. There were about eight different drills to complete. The first was the easiest and they slowly get harder up to the eighth, which is the most difficult.

"Right Natsu," I lifted the sheet up so he could see "We need to do this one first." I pointed to Drill number one.

"Kay." He grinned.

The initial drills were simple enough: with feet pressed against each other, pull on each other's hands. holding hands, lean back. a wheelbarrow.

But after that they started to get trickier: on male partner's knees, arms outstretched. performs a handstand, other holds legs. partner lays holding legs and arms up, female puts knees onto his feet and hands onto his hands.

Yes, the drills were getting harder but to me it just seemed like they were going up on the awkward scale. Twice Natsu has had to gawk at my butt and boobs and I've already had to stare at his crotch a number of times. My face was getting redder with every exercise. But it seems he was unaffected by the uncomfortable moments. Not that I was annoyed or anything that stupid Natsu doesn't notice my allure!

Number 7- "Natsu you've got to hold my ankles, while I hold your shoulders on this one." I instructed him "Let me just get on you back first."

"Hai." Natsu squatted down to allow me to climb onto his back. Once he was standing and I was securely on his back, he started to push me further away. Once he was holding onto my ankles my arms were at full stretch trying to keep my grip on his shoulder blades.

"Natsu-nii, look at me!" Romeo called from over the other side of the room. The young double act were doing the fifth drill, hand stand.

"Oh hi, Romeo!" Natsu waves, releasing my ankles from his clasp. I fell to the floor and landed hard on my backside. "Luce!" Natsu crouched down next to me.

"You baka." I groaned, sitting up.

"Luce your ok!" Natsu exclaimed happily.

"No thanks to you." I grumbled "Let's get this last one over with." I picked up the sheet. My jaw dropped.

On the last drill was an image of a girl being suspended in midair, elevated by her partner at the waist, raised higher than his head. **(A/N Just imagine that legendry lift from Dirty Dancing. XD)**

"Carla isn't serious, is she?" I gaped at the balance in disbelief.

"It's Sensei actually, Lucy." I yelped in fright and turn to see the she-cat hovering behind me. "And yes, I am serious. Get on with the move!"

"Hai, Sensei!" I bowed and scurried over to Natsu.

"Well?" Carla said impatiently.

"Just a moment Sensei." I shoved the sheet into Natsu's face. "Natsu we have to do THIS!"

"Yeah, what about it?" he shrugged.

I facepalmed. "Natsu, can you even hold me like that?"

"Hmmm, you are quite heavy..."

"What are you implying?" I growled, performing technique number 12: The Back-Crack Bridge on Natsu. Thank you EdoLucy for your insightful knowledge on how to hurt Natsu's everywhere.

"Ehem." Carla fake coughed, grabbing mine and Natsu's attention.

I dropped Natsu to the floor. "Sorry, Sensei." I turned to Natsu and asked in desperation "Can you do it Natsu? You dropped me on exercise seven... Will you drop me again?"

Natsu stood up, brushed himself off and then gave his signature toothy grin "Trust me Luce. I won't let you fall." **(A/N Surprisingly sexy, Ne?)**

I nodded. "I trust you." I backed up a few spaces and took a deep breath. My heart hammering against my rib cage. "Here it goes." I ran at Natsu closing my eyes... and jumped.

I slowly opened one eye. I was airborne. The floor looked so very far away. But I felt surprisingly safe. Warm hands, steady were clasped around my waist. I looked down and saw a pink head of hair.

I started to laugh and whoop. It was a great feeling. It was almost like flying.

After a while Natsu said "Luce I'm gonna let ya down now."

"Ok." I called down. Natsu slowly lowered me, putting me down so that my tip toes reached the floor first. We stood eye lines locked for what felt like hours.

Eventually the she-cat broke our gaze. "Bravo. I'm impressed." Carla clapped a few times.

"Thanks, sensei." Said Natsu, giving me the thumbs up.

I grinned returning the gesture and just then apprehended an idea "Hey Natsu... If Happy and Carla have been our teacher so far you don't think-"

**The Final Class...**

"Ballroom dancing is a very sensual, passionate activity," said PantherLily ardently. And the awkward meter goes up another notch! **DING! DING! DING!** "It is ways to express you're most suppressed and inner feelings. You must be at one with your partner and know the true you."

"Yes, I understand." Elfman nodded admiringly "To be a true man you must follow your heart and live your life by what lies within."

Lily pointed to Elfman "Yes! Exactly! You have the soul of a natural dancer, Elfman."

"Yes! I knew!"

"Sit down!" Evergreen whacked her partner's leg.

"The first dance we will be practicing is the Quick Step. All men take hold of your lady please." I blushed at being called Natsu's Lady. "Males, take a hold of the lady's hand in your left and place your right on their lower shoulder just below the shoulder blade." Natsu did as the exceed said. I looked away from Natsu as he did so. Arrgh! If I had a Jewel for every time I blush, I wouldn't have needed to be in this competition anyway. My rent would have been paid, and probably would have money left to buy a hundred fish for happy. And that's how I fantasise about spending money? **, **I guess my rich girl life has taught me nothing.

"Much like the Social Foxtrot, the Basic for the Quickstep is a zig zag step. Aside from the fact it is done to slightly faster music than Foxtrot, the main difference in the basic is that instead of starting forward on the Left foot and taking two steps before taking the side together (Quick Quick) only one is taken to start and therefore is taken with the Right foot and vice versa for the ladies steps. Has everyone got that?" PatherLily explained.

There were some "got it!"'s and nods.

"Let's start." PantherLily switches on the lacrima stereo. A fast jazzy number comes on.

The three of us couples started to make our way around the room, taking it slow since we were just beginners.

"Itami!" I screwed up my face in pain. "Natsu~! You trod on my foot!"

"Oh sorry." he apologised sheepishly.

"It's fine." I huffed.

We carried on around the room. Every few moments I shrieked "Itami!" since Natsu kept trampling on my feet.

Lily was drawn to us because of all the noise we were making "Hmmm... I think your problem is you're both trying to lead. Lucy let Natsu take control and follow. Natsu don't focus too hard on the steps just try to relax and get a feel for the rhythm." he suggested. Holy Shit, the Exceed's know their stuff.

"Hai." We both agreed and continued. Despite Lily's excellent tips, Natsu just kept crushing my feet. In all the dances Lily taught us it carried on like this 'Itami! Itami!' 'Sorry!' Sorry!' Nothing changed. It was the same for the Slow Waltz, Tango, Cha-Cha-Cha, Viennese Waltz and countless others. We just couldn't get our footing right.

At the end of the session PantherLily told us "Just try your best." which earned a sweat drop from me. Not exactly encouraging, Ne?

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**Hmmm? What do you think of Natsu and Lucy's chances of winning now? Not sure? Neither an I _XD_**

**Yonde kurete Arigatō...**

******Sayōnara!**  



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